Matchmaking
by Tallulah Grammar Songstress
Summary: Beat and Rhyth are having problems. Can Jazz and Yoyo help them make up? My first JSRF fic.


Matchmaking  
  
(My first (and probably only) JSRF fic - written when I still haven't seen the game so that would explain any errors. Honest. No one in this belongs to me, they're all © Sega.)  
  
"Yippeeee!!!!"  
  
Rhyth screeched down the rail, sparks flying from her skates, leapt off it, did a front flip, and landed neatly on the ground, dust flying up around her.  
  
"What're you so happy about?"  
  
She jumped as Beat stepped out from the shadow of a nearby doorway.  
  
"Well, the sun's shining, I'm having a good hair day, I just did this totally amazing tag."  
  
Beat's mouth curled into a sneer, and Rhyth felt her face sting with blushing.  
  
"Y'know, it just feels good, that's all," she finished, staring down at her skates.  
  
"I'm sure," Beat said.  
  
"Oh, come on. What's wrong with being happy?"  
  
"Nothing. You just act like you're on Prozac most of the time."  
  
Rhyth swallowed.  
  
"Well - well, I like being like this!" she said.  
  
Beat didn't answer this time. Just stared up at a point a few inches above her, with that totally insulting smirk on his face. Rhyth had seen him give that smirk to most of the garage at one point or another, and especially to her.  
  
Normally she just ignored it.  
  
But today - her good mood was being scraped away more and more each second, and it was all his fault.  
  
"What's your problem?" she said.  
  
Beat frowned at her. "My problem?"  
  
"Yeah." Rhyth swallowed, tried not to notice the nervousness crawling through her stomach. "You know, you're always so horrible to everyone. Why?"  
  
"Hey, I just say what I think. Doesn't make me horrible." Beat folded his arms, and glanced down at the ground.  
  
Rhyth took a deep breath. Either she could walk away from this, or -  
  
"Yes, it does!" she snapped. "You're the most horrible person in the GGs, and you know what? I'm sick of it!"  
  
"Oh dear. I think I'm gonna cry."  
  
"Beat!"  
  
"What? I'm not scared of you, Rhyth-chan. Why - why don't you grow up a bit, huh? Live in the real world for a change."  
  
Rhyth wanted to stamp her foot, to slap him, to burst into tears.  
  
She did none of those things. Just turned on her heel and started dashing away, quivering with anger.  
  
He didn't need to be so mean to her! She always tried to be nice and friendly to everyone. Even him. And then he just completely stamped on her. It wasn't fair.  
  
Her lip tried to tremble. She bit down on it. Tears stung her eyes and glittered in the sun.  
  
***  
  
Beat watched her go. Geez, that kid was so annoying. And so damn sensitive. He'd hardly even said anything to her. Just told her what he thought.  
  
He did feel - deep down - kind of mean, though. Rhyth wasn't half as annoying as a lot of people he knew.  
  
And she probably couldn't help being so ditzy.  
  
Well, whatever. If he got the chance, he'd tell her to cool down and all and then hope she wasn't one of those girls who held a grudge. Well, come on, Rhyth almost certainly wasn't the sort of girl who held a grudge. So yeah. He'd talk to her and show her he wasn't mad no more.  
  
It was a pity she was such a ditz. She was kinda cute really. That skimpy dress really showed her off, and the best thing was she didn't even know it. She really was that innocent.  
  
It'd be fun to make her a bit less innocent.  
  
Mentally he slapped himself. Geez, what was with him? He didn't want a girl, he didn't need one, and even if he did want a girl, that girl would no way be Rhyth. She was so damn perky he'd end up beating her to death with a paint can before they'd been together a week.  
  
Anyway, girls were more trouble than they were worth. A lot more trouble.  
  
Beat's eyes narrowed behind his goggles as he remembered it.  
  
After all the Rokkaku trouble - and Gouji's defeat - and all that stuff - the GGs had been pretty high. And Beat and Gum had been hanging out, in Dinosaur park that night, watching the stars. How corny could you get?  
  
And then suddenly, Gum had turned to him and kissed him on the mouth, right in the middle of a sentence. It had been as unexpected as a meteorite landing on him, but much, much more fun.  
  
For about a week, anyway.  
  
Then Gum had just decided she'd got bored, and told him I don't think we should do this any more. She'd even patted him on the shoulder. And when he'd asked why, she'd just said You know.it was fun, but now it isn't. And it was only meant to be a bit of fun, wasn't it?  
  
Of course it was.  
  
So Beat didn't know why he minded it so much. Maybe it was just because he missed kissing and girlish fingers clutching him. Maybe it was that he hated getting dumped. Maybe it was - ah, hell, who cared what it was? The point was, girls were trouble and Rhyth, for all her innocence and skimpy clothes, was a pain in the ass.  
  
Yeah.  
  
He shoved his hands in his pockets, and began to skate away down the street.  
  
***  
  
"What's with you, anyway?"  
  
Rhyth sighed as Boogie's voice rang out behind her.  
  
"Nothing," she replied.  
  
"Something's gotta be with you, girl. You ain't smiled all day."  
  
"Ohh.I just had a row with Beat. That's all."  
  
"Beat?" Gum snorted. "Don't waste your time on him."  
  
"I'm not." Rhyth hunched her shoulders, suddenly feeling tearful again. "I just don't like fighting, that's all."  
  
"Well, you don't get normally so sad when someone just snaps at you," Cube said, sitting down next to her. "And Beat snaps at everyone. What's the big deal?"  
  
Rhyth sighed again. What was the big deal? She didn't know. All she knew was that since the row, she'd been feeling let-down.and flat.and like nothing would ever be good again.  
  
And she didn't even care about Beat.  
  
Not one bit.  
  
She'd tried being nice to him lots of times and he never was nice back.  
  
Just because he was cute he thought he could get away with anything!  
  
Wait a minute. He was cute?  
  
"Rhyth?" Cube flicked her fingers against Rhyth's forehead. "Hello?"  
  
"Mm? Oh, yeah." Rhyth shook her head. "I dunno, Cube. I just feel kinda depressed all of a sudden."  
  
"About Beat?" Jazz said. "Don't worry about it. He's probably forgotten it ever happened."  
  
"Yeah. He probably has."  
  
Rhyth got to her feet and marched away.  
  
So what if she thought Beat was cute? That didn't mean anything. She thought lots of guys were cute. And you could do much better than liking Beat, with his attitude problem and his jerky ideas and smart mouth.  
  
She wanted him to like her, though.  
  
Well, so what? She wanted everyone to like her.  
  
But - but - but -  
  
She wanted him to really like her.  
  
Rats.  
  
***  
  
"Beat, what's wrong with you?"  
  
"Nothing." Beat shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away from Corn.  
  
"You just kicked Pots halfway across the garage for like no reason."  
  
"Yeah, that's some kick you got there," Yoyo said, grinning.  
  
"The little pest was bugging me, okay?"  
  
"He was only sniffing your skates."  
  
"Well, you know what? Some of us don't want dog slobber all over our feet." Beat stared down at the chequered floor of the garage, and wondered if could summon up the effort to kick that too.  
  
"It's nothing to do with that," Clutch said. "You been in a bad mood ever since Gum dumped you."  
  
"No, I been in a bad mood ever since I got stuck with this stupid gang and its stupid leader and its stupid people!" Beat snarled.  
  
"Well, you seemed pretty happy this morning," Soda said. "Up until you had that fit at Rhyth."  
  
"Has that ditz told everyone? I didn't have a fit at her, okay? I just said some stuff and she started bawling her eyes out."  
  
"Then why're you so pissed about it? Normally you don't care when people hate you."  
  
"Who said I cared?" Beat turned to look at them. "I don't care. Never did, never will. Now if you don't mind, I got to go hang somewhere with people who I don't want to destroy."  
  
Of course he didn't care. Of course he didn't. Why would he care? He didn't care. He just felt - bothered, like he'd got sand in his clothes or something - and kind of uncomfortable inside - kind of.guilty?  
  
Nah. Not guilty.  
  
Rhyth was cuddly, that was all, like a kitten or a puppy, and it was instinct to feel guilty about kicking a puppy. Not that he did, of course.  
  
He ignored Pots whimpering in the corner, and slunk out away from the garage.  
  
***  
  
Jazz stared up at the sky above the garage, and sighed.  
  
"Oh, man, don't tell me you're stressing about something too."  
  
She looked round as Yoyo slumped down next to her, and grinned. "No. Just thinking."  
  
"About?"  
  
"Rhyth. She's really upset by that row with Beat she had this morning."  
  
"Beat's upset too." Yoyo kicked his heels gently against the ground. "Even if he won't admit it. Gotta say, I never thought those two'd go for each other, but hey, opposites attract and all."  
  
"Huh?" Jazz turned to him. "You think they - like each other?"  
  
"Well, either that or she's got PMT and he's - he's just decided to be even more ratty than usual."  
  
"I - I guess it could be possible." Jazz rested her head on her knees, and frowned. "But - Beat and Rhyth?"  
  
"Well, it might be good for 'em. Beat might get sweetened up a bit."  
  
Jazz laughed. "You say that like they are going to get it together. I don't see how they can. She's too nervous of him now, and he's too stuck- up." "Well, I ain't putting up with Beat kicking small defenceless animals and rudies round the garage for the next six months. Nuh-uh. Those two are getting together whether they like it or not."  
  
"You sound like you've got a plan," Jazz said.  
  
"Do I?" Yoyo grinned. "Yay me. Seriously, though, you're a smart chick; you got any ideas on how we could match them up?"  
  
"Bribery?"  
  
Yoyo sniggered. "I wish. Beat's so up himself he wouldn't accept it. He's got to look cool, whatever happens -"  
  
He stopped.  
  
"How about." he said, and began to whisper in Jazz's ear.  
  
***  
  
"Come on, Rhyth," Jazz said the next morning. "You can't stay here all day."  
  
"I'm not going to."  
  
"Then why haven't you gone out with the others?"  
  
"I don't want to get yelled at again."  
  
"Beat probably isn't even hanging with them. Why does it matter?"  
  
Rhyth sighed, and didn't answer.  
  
"Look," Jazz said. "The others have all gone round Chuo Street. We'll avoid them, go to the bus terminal together, okay? Just have some fun on our own. Come on, girl, trust me."  
  
Rhyth shrugged. "All right."  
  
Jazz frowned as Rhyth got to her feet. She didn't think this plan was necessarily a great idea. It seemed kind of crazy to her. But Rhyth looked so miserable these days. She needed to get perky again. And it wasn't like they had any ideas better than Yoyo's.  
  
No. As long as Beat acted the way he was meant to, then everything should go fine. She'd tell Rhyth to act all gloomy.Yoyo would tell Beat something to make him feel bad.they'd get talking.and then hopefully mutual attraction, hormones, and sappy music would kick in.  
  
Jazz sighed. She didn't really like manipulating people like this. Especially when the plan had so many holes in. But Yoyo had talked her into it, and she'd committed herself.  
  
But no worries. Everything should go fine.  
  
***  
  
The sun blazed out over the bus terminal, sending shadows flying out from Rhyth and Jazz's feet. The air was thick and blistering, but under the bus shelters it was cooler, water-cold shade. Rhyth dashed from shade to sunlight, ignoring the cold and heat glancing off her skin.  
  
Who cared about the stupid old sun, anyway? So what if she'd once thought it was pretty? Everything just seemed so pathetic these days.  
  
And she felt lonely. It gnawed at her insides, wore her down.  
  
She dashed faster and faster, trying to run away from the loneliness. It didn't work.  
  
***  
  
"Beat, come on!" Yoyo settled his sunglasses on his sweat-soaked nose, and glowered at the other GG.  
  
"I'm busy." Beat coolly put the finishing touches to his tag, and then stood, studying it. "Piss off."  
  
"You're not busy. You've finished that tag, and Clutch and Soda are takin' care of the rest of this place."  
  
"Yoyo, give me one good reason why I want to go to the bus terminal."  
  
"Uh.it might be more interesting round there."  
  
"I ain't buying it."  
  
Yoyo swallowed, and glanced at his watch. 9:55. Jazz was expecting him and Beat at ten. At this rate, they were going to be late, and then the whole plan would be completely screwed.  
  
Beat started humming under his breath, shifting his head from side to side as he observed his tag.  
  
Yoyo decided to take desperate measures.  
  
"Look, just move it!" he yelled, grabbed Beat's arm, and charged down the road with all the speed he could manage. For a few moments the element of surprise meant he had the upper hand, but then Beat dug his heels in and started to try and go back the other way, calling "Are you insane? Let go of me, you moron!"  
  
"Come to - the bus - terminal!" Yoyo's legs began to ache, his skates skidded along the ground.  
  
"No! Get off!"  
  
"Pleeeeease! I need you to! It's important!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It's about Rhyth!"  
  
Beat stopped struggling, meaning that he and Yoyo shot down the street several metres.  
  
"What about Rhyth?" he asked at last, putting a painfully casual note into his voice.  
  
"She - uh - well, she's hanging round there and I thought you might like to, you know, see her."  
  
Oh, that was lame, he thought. That was really, really pathetic.  
  
But Beat had gone silent.  
  
"All right," he said. "Get off my arm, and let's go."  
  
***  
  
Jazz looked at her watch. 10:05 and no sign of Beat and Yoyo. Where on earth could they be?  
  
But if she waited any longer, she'd screw up the plan completely. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Rhyth skulking under one of the bus terminal roofs, and hurried over to her.  
  
"Rhyth," she said, "hey, guess what I heard?"  
  
"What."  
  
"It's about Beat," Jazz said, and grinned as Rhyth suddenly tensed.  
  
"What about him?"  
  
"Well, I heard that the reason he snapped at you was that he actually likes it when girls are sad around him."  
  
"Why? He's a sadist?"  
  
"No! It's just, then he can cheer them up. Also, he loves it that they're frank enough to show their feelings around him."  
  
"He does?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
Rhyth sighed, deeply. "Well, that's it for me then. I'm obviously not his type at all. Look, Jazz, I'm going back. I'm sorry, but I just feel so - so - not happy."  
  
Jazz gulped as Rhyth started to skate away, and stared wildly round the bus terminal. Where, oh where was Yoyo?  
  
***  
  
"See, the thing is," Yoyo said as they dashed, "Rhyth's been really gloomy about stuff lately. And so she told me to tell you that.um.she's feeling really bad about that row you had, and she just wished she could make up with you."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"So, why don't you go on and do it? Rhyth's nice enough."  
  
"Because I don't want to. It's not like it matters. Girls are all bitches anyway."  
  
"Not Rhyth."  
  
"Yes, Rhyth!"  
  
"Well, come on anyway! We're nearly there!"  
  
Yoyo kept dashing, trying not to notice Beat's lack of enthusiasm. Oh, he hated it when a plan didn't come together.  
  
***  
  
"Rhyth, wait!"  
  
Rhyth tried to ignore Jazz's voice, and skated faster, but she heard the other GG's skates clack on the concrete as Jazz circled her to cut her off. "Look, Rhyth, you can't go."  
  
"Yes, I can! Why not?"  
  
"Uhhh."  
  
"See? Just leave me alone! I don't want to hang out with people and I especially don't want to see Beat!"  
  
She put on a burst of speed - Jazz kept trying to corner her - why wouldn't they leave her alone? Everyone always got at her - Jazz was catching up -  
  
Rhyth put on a burst of speed, leapt onto the banister of the steps up to a walkway, and began to grind. Once there, she didn't stop, but dashed up the next set of stairs - and the next - and -  
  
Safe now. The air was cooler up here, and - and -  
  
She could see all of the terminal spread out below her -  
  
Shouldn't have looked down.  
  
***  
  
Yoyo screeched into the bus terminal, and looked wildly around for Jazz. There she was, by one of the shelters, looking up at the walkway.  
  
"Jazz!" he hollered.  
  
She turned. "About damn time.where's Beat?"  
  
"He's coming. Where's Rhyth?"  
  
Jazz, face grim, pointed up at the walkways. "She ran off. Now there's no way she'll talk to Beat."  
  
"Shit."  
  
Beat sauntered into the bus terminal, frowning.  
  
"So what's going on?" he said. "Where is Rhyth, if she's so important?"  
  
"Up on the walkway."  
  
"And you want me to go find her? Yeah, right."  
  
"Rhyth!" Jazz called. "Come on, come back down! Beat wants to talk to you!"  
  
"I do not!" Beat hissed.  
  
There was silence from above them.  
  
"Rhyth?" Jazz called again.  
  
And then a faint wail drifted down to them. "I - I'm scared."  
  
***  
  
Rhyth sank to her knees, but the vertigo didn't vanish. The height was clawing at her through the walls, she was dizzy, the ground was tipping and tilting underneath her and if she didn't cling on she'd be thrown off.  
  
Come on, move, she told herself.  
  
No, I can't, if I do I'll fall I'll fall.  
  
She was never like this normally! Normally she just dashed along and just didn't look at the ground! Now she had looked and she was really scared, really really scared; it was different in the Skyscraper District, there the ground was so far away it didn't look real - but here it looked real, it looked too real and she could fall onto it.  
  
"Rhyth?"  
  
She looked round. Beat had just come up the stairs.  
  
"Come on, Rhyth. I'll help you down."  
  
"I can't -"  
  
"Yes, you can. Come on. Stand up." She couldn't stand up - but Beat was looking scornful - and she wasn't going to let him laugh at her, no way -  
  
Trembling, she got to her feet. Her knees wobbled as if she was on ice, and patches of darkness flickered through her brain.  
  
Beat took her hand. His fingers were warm, and he gripped onto her. He wouldn't let her fall. No way.  
  
"Let's go," he said, and began skating slowly back to the steps, dragging her along. "I didn't know you were scared of heights. Why the hell are you a rudie if you are?"  
  
"I - I just - I looked down, and I wasn't moving -"  
  
Slowly they stepped onto the stairs. Rhyth felt the ground close in on her, and whimpered.  
  
"I'm going to fall."  
  
"No, you're not." Beat put an arm round her waist. "See, I've got you. Now just move."  
  
Rhyth swallowed, and somehow, far below her, she felt her feet begin to stumble down the steps. Beat's arm was firm on her back, and she could dimly hear the music scratching in his headphones. He breathed heavily as he helped her down the steps, and she felt his ribs, pressed against her back.  
  
They stopped on the last walkway before the ground, and Beat said, "Are you okay now?"  
  
Rhyth nodded, blushing. He must think she was such a ditz.  
  
"Thanks," she said. "Thanks a lot."  
  
Beat shrugged. "Yeah, well, whatever. Hey, um." He scuffed a skate along the ground. "Uh, I'm sorry if I upset you yesterday. Not that it matters. But, you know, I didn't mean to."  
  
"Oh. No, that's okay!" Rhyth grinned, her old happiness splashing out back over her. "Forget it. I wasn't -"  
  
She remembered what Jazz had said.  
  
"Well, I was bothered," she said. "But it's okay now. I'd forgive you even if you haven't said that. I felt like a cat stuck up a tree up there!"  
  
Beat grinned. "Being needed ain't so bad, I'm finding. What were you doing running off that high, anyway?"  
  
"Um.I felt depressed, and Jazz wouldn't let me leave for some reason."  
  
"Yeah, our friends can be really pushy, huh? Yoyo practically dragged me here going on about you."  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yeah, said I should talk to you."  
  
Both of them frowned.  
  
"Does that seem a big coincidence to you?" Rhyth said at last.  
  
Beat nodded. "Yeah. Almost a planned coincidence."  
  
"Why'd they do that?"  
  
Beat thought a moment, then his eyes met Rhyth's, and they both said, "Matchmaking!" together.  
  
"Geez, those creeps!" Beat shook his head. "Can't believe they'd set us up like that." He leant over the wall of the walkway. "Let me see if I can spit on their heads -"  
  
"Beat."  
  
"Mm?"  
  
"Uh - nothing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, um, you don't think it worked, then." Rhyth stared down at her feet, and fiddled with the hem of her skirt, folding it into pleats.  
  
Beat was silent for a moment, then he straightened up, turned to face her, and said, "Do you want it to?"  
  
Rhyth felt her face turn so red it almost melted.  
  
Beat grinned, and leaned forward and kissed her.  
  
Rhyth got dizzy again. But much nicer dizziness this time.  
  
***  
  
"Yay us!" Yoyo punched the air. "We did it! Look! Yo, Jazz, look!"  
  
Jazz squinted up at the couple. "How we managed it I'll never know."  
  
"Oh, come on! Be positive! It worked! Now they'll both stop sulking and we can get back to normal."  
  
"Good. I never want to do that again. Come on, let's give 'em some privacy."  
  
They began skating away. They'd only gone a few yards when Yoyo said, "Jazz, you know what? Corn's been awful edgy lately. Maybe we could -"  
  
"No!"  
  
"No, listen. You see, I reckon he's got the hots for Cube."  
  
Jazz rolled her eyes as an evil smile crept across Yoyo's face. "Here we go again."  
  
THE END (No, it will not be continued!) 


End file.
